Random Thoughts and Happenings

It seems that I don't have much time lately to post. We have been very busy. Here are some of the things I've been thinking about or doing lately:

*I've been thinking about how incredibly blessed I am with such a hard working husband. He has been working 12-14 hour days for the past 3 weeks and sometimes that much on Saturdays. He's been staying up in Kearns so he doesn't have to waste time and money driving home every night. I'm very lucky to have such a wonderful man for my husband. I don't write about Jason much because I don't really like to sound mushy or braggy or whatever, but I do think I'm the luckiest girl alive.

*I can't stop thinking about China and how soon it will be when we're getting off the plane there. I hope we're ready for it. I can't help but wonder if we actually know what we're getting into--of course we don't really, it's going to all be new to us. What an adventure! I'm starting to get a little nervous. But, I'm more excited than nervous, so that's good. I always get nervous before a change even if it's a good change and one I'm looking forward to. I've been trying to pack up all the stuff we're leaving here and it's been quite a task. It's hard for me to know what to take with us and how much to take. I've packed up a lot of stuff and there's still tons to go! We have way too much stuff. And I feel like we got rid of so much in our various yard sales and DI trips.

*Kids are just too smart. Haley loves to change her clothes a million times a day and I'm getting tired of it. So, the last couple of days I have refused to let her change. I told her that she can only wear one outfit a day. So, this morning, after being dressed for about an hour or so, she spilled a drip of water on her shirt, so she took it off and asked me to get her purple shirt for her. I told her it would dry and reminded her that she could only wear one outfit a day. Later, her friend Alli came up to play and she was wearing a dress, so Haley wanted to wear a dress too. I didn't give in and she stayed in her one outfit. After playing outside, her clothes were a little bit dirty, so she asked again for her purple shirt. I told her just to keep those clothes on. I thought that I had finally won and that she was going to actually make it through a whole day in just one outfit, but then a few hours ago, she came out of her room naked and announced proudly, "I just pee'd on my bed!" I said, "Why did you do that?" And then she said, "Can I wear my purple shirt?" Aaaargh. Kids. They're just too smart.

*As I was carrying some boxes out to our shed, I saw a mouse run by inside the shed. It scared me and I dropped the boxes and ran in to call Jason. I told him I saw a mouse and he didn't act at all surprised. He said there's probably always been mice out there. I've always assumed there might be, but I haven't seen any or any signs of any in the whole 5 years I've lived here. And I've spent a lot of time out there, especially lately, cleaning and organizing. Now, I'm just creeped out to go in there. I told him I couldn't finish loading up all the packed boxes. He wasn't very sympathetic. He asked what I was afraid of and I said, "What if it runs up my pant leg?" Then he just thought I was ridiculous. It reminded me of being at Oakcrest, stranded on the top bunk with Beta, screaming until someone came to rescue us from the mouse. Then having Barb make fun of us being scared of mice and having me say, "I'm just worried it might try to crawl up my nose while I'm sleeping". Then I just got mocked more. But, seriously, mice can get into the smallest of areas. I think I read somewhere that they can fit through a hole the size of a dime. And that's where the picture of one crawling in my nostril probably came from. But, I am proud to say that I did finish loading up the boxes and I didn't even see the mouse again let alone have it climb up my pant leg or into my nostril. I was much more cautious and on-edge though. I'm not really into rodents.

*I can't wait for the next Harry Potter movie. I think I'm going to go see it on Wednesday. And then of course, I REALLY can't wait for the 7th book to come out. Only a little more than a week for that. Unfortunately, I may not have time to read it until we're on the plane to China.

*Tomorrow we're having a friend come stay with us for 3 weeks--Krystal Lowe. She's from Oklahoma. We stayed with her family a few nights while we were in Oklahoma last October. Now, we get to return the favor. I've been trying to think of all the fun things I can do with her since she's never been to Utah. We'll probably do all the typical touristy things plus go to our cabin and just hang out a lot too.

*I have been extremely happy lately. I think I've always been a happy person, in general, but it's been a different kind of happy lately--a happy-all-the-time kind of happy. I don't really know how to describe it. I read in a book the other day that the 3 requirements for happiness are to have something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. I definitely have something to do--so much that I am constantly busy. I have an over abundance of people to love, but most importantly the ones I see everyday--Jason, Britton, and Haley. And I have something to look forward to--going to China. I think in the past few years, I may have been lacking one of those 3 things at different times. There's always something to do as a stay at home mom, but it's not always defined and it doesn't ever feel like anything gets done. And there hasn't always been something to look forward to other than just everyday life. Anyway, for whatever reason, I am extremely content and happy. I love that feeling.

*I am glad that I am doing a fitness contest with Amber and Desiree right now. It's been really fun so far and has really kept me in check with my eating and exercising. It would be really easy for me to get out of control with my eating and skipping my exercising because I've been so busy and not been home a lot of the last 3 weeks. So, this contest is really saving me. We have a blog where we write about the contest at http://www.3fitfriends.blogspot.com/ Check it out.

*I think I may have found a way to continue blogging while in China. My cousin Kathryn is there now and she's been able to do it. My cousin, Nathan (her brother), figured out a way for her to do it and he shared the secrets with me. I hope it works because I love blogging and I especially love to be able to read other people's blogs.

This has turned out to be far longer than I anticipated. I guess I had more random thoughts than I originally thought.